Book support



Sept. 6, 1938. R. H. DRAEGER BOOK SUPPORT Filed Dec. 2, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept- 1938. R. H. DRAEGER 2,128,920

BOOK SUPPORT Filed Dec. 2, 1955 2 SheeiSShe'VZ awe/Mom Patented Sept. 6,1938 UNITED STATE BOOK SUPPORT Rupert H. Draeger, United States NavyApplication December 2, 1935, Serial No. 52,517

4 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928,. 370' 0.. G. 757) This invention relates to booksupports and more particularly to book supports intended for holdingbooks in a position convenient for photographing them.

The book support of this invention is adapted to be mounted in a tabletop, though it may itself be mounted as a table.

The primary object of this book support as a part of photographicequipment is to provide a support which, regardless of the location ofthe pages in the book being photographed, will always keep the two pagesof the open book in a single plane, thus permitting a perfectly focusedimage to be recorded in the camera, regardless of which section of thebook is being photographed andwithout changing the focus of the Thisobject may be accomplished without damage to a thick book only whenprovision is made to support the front and back covers at With thisarrangement the book may be opened sufficiently to permit the pages tolie flat as near to the spine of the book as the printing is commonlycarried. The great advantage of this will be appreciated by all who havehad to use photographs of book pages where the portions of the linesnear the spine were distorted, curved, out of focus and reduced in size.Scale drawings from books improperly opened and held While beingphotographed obviously are no longer proportioned to any constant scalecamera.

variable levels.

throughout the sheet.

A further object of this invention is to provide a transparent cover forthe exposed pages which will hold the pages flat, and at the same timebe readily manipulatable so that pages may be turned easily. This coveror platen may include a fixed or adjustable mask, whereby a neat bordermay be obtained and extraneous material including the edges of the bookmay be excluded.

Another object is to provide means for moving the book and support so asto center the whole, or the part being copied, in the photographic Stilla further object is toseparately support the two sides of the open bookby means which recede to the proper level'automatically when pressure isexerted on the top of the book by the fiat platen or cover glass, andwhich also will keep the book under only a pressure which may beregulated. A special feature incorporated in each support individuallyis a means that permits the support to be raised step by step, to ahigher level merely by pushing slightly on the support and thenreleasingit.

In the accompanying drawings like numbers refer to like parts in which:

Fig. 1 is an assembly elevation partly in section showing a book held inposition to be photo- 7 graphed.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the portion below line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevation in section of the top of one of the supportsshowing the book cover hold- W Fig. 2 showing the keyed track forlateral ad- N justment of the entire book and supports.

Fig. 6 is an elevation at line 6-6 of Fig. 2 showing in section anotherlateral adjustment track.

Fig. 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of the other position of thefree clamp ring shown on the ratcheted support rod in Fig. 1.

The construction and operation of a preferred embodiment of thisinvention will readily be understood from the drawings and from thefollowing description which refers to' the drawings.

Base I 0 supports stops H which have inwardly turned'fianges [2 at theirtop edges. Through base Iii are mounted cylindrical chambers l3 and [4which may be moved laterally 'in theaperture l5 of said base. Chambersl3 and M are identical in construction and are formed by screwing lowerchamber l6, having a head ll which contains aperture l8 with countersunkrecess 19, into the upper chamber 20 which has an aperture 2i in itstop.

A bevel catch 22 is normally held by its enlarged head in an inwardposition by a spring 23 confined in a radially extending tube 24 havingaperture 25 through which the bevel catch penetrates the upper chamber20. The bottom of the lower chamber I6 is closed by a threadedly se-'cured cap 26. Cap 26 has a centrally located threaded aperture intowhich knurl headed screw 21 is adjustably fixed, said screw having ashort shaft 28 on its inner end that penetrates an aperture in thecenter of a circular cup member 29.

Upon the cup member 29' is floated a helical compression spring 30 theupper end of which bears against a circularly grooved member 3| which issecured to the lower end of the cylindrical ratcheted rod 32. Theratchets 32' on rod 32 are formed in the shape of isosceles triangleshaving their altitudes in a radial direction. The ratcheted rod 32extends upwardly from the lower chamber |6 through the upper chamber 2!!and into the inclosure within the stops having platen 33 mounted on itsupper end.

The platen 33 is secured to the ratcheted rod 32 while platen 33, across section of which is shown in Fig. 3, is slideably mounted in track34 which is mounted on the head of the other ratcheted rod 322. Platen33 has attached thereto one end of spring 35 the other end of whichissecured to track 34, said spring being adapted to pull said platen awayfrom the position nearest the center of the device, thus tending tostretch open a book secured to the platens. Both platens 33 and 33 areformed with a shallow but wide groove 36 extending the full length ofthe platen and covered by plate 31 so as to form a pocket into which thecover of a book may he slipped. The platens also have bosses 38extending from their under sides into which knurl headed screws 39 arethreaded. A small bearing plate 4|] is rotatably mounted on the innerends of said screws so that when a books cover is slipped into the spaceformed at 36 it may be clamped by pressure between cover 31 and bearingplate 49.

Within the upper chambers 20 and mounted around each of the ratchetedrods is a floating member 4| a plan view of which is shown in Fig. 4.This floating member 4| has vertical flanges 42 extending approximatelyradially and within which is pivoted pawl 43 on shaft 44 and normallyheld out of ratchet engaging position by helical spring 45 secured tosaid pawl and said flanges. Leaf spring 46 is so attached to pawl 43that when the floating member 4| is in the low position shown in Fig. 1said leaf spring action against the wall of recess I9 throws pawl 43into ratchet engaging position.

Fig. '7 shows pawl supporting ring member 4| in the normal position, i.e. the position in which it is maintained by helical spring 30 when nopressure is being exerted on the platen 33 or 33'. From this view it isapparent that when a short downward push of a distance equal to at leasthalf of the length of a ratchet tooth, is given to the platen, catch 22will aid in dislodging pawl 43 from its ratchet engaging position, saidpawl rotating about its pivot 44 until leaf. spring 46 touches stop pin41. The small helical spring 45 so holds the pawl, thus permittingfloating member 4| to fall to the position shown in Fig. 1. Just beforereaching this position leaf spring 46 touches the slanting wall of thecountersunk recess I9 causing pawl 43 to pivot to ratchet engagingposition, the weight of floating member 4| being sufiicient to overcomethe opposition offered by spring 45 to such rotation.

7 During the fall of floating member 4| the pressure necessary for thepreviously mentioned platen push must be maintained in order that themechanism may raise the platen by a predetermined amount when thepressure is released. This time, of course, is but a fraction of asecond, at the end of which the pawl is again engaging the ratchetteeth, but several teeth lower down. When the external pressure is thenreleased from the platen, helical spring 36 raises the ratchet rod,platen and floating member 4| until the top of floating member 4| bearsagainst the under side of the top of chamber 20. If it is desired topush the platen down beyond the position it occupies when the floatingring member 4| rests on top of chamber I6, as shown in Fig. 1, it isonly necessary to exert additional downward pressure on the platen. Inthis manner the pressure exerted by spring 46 holding pawl 43 inengagement with ratchet 32 will be overcome and the pawl will be pivotedout of ratchet engaging position thereby permitting the ratchet to slideinto the desired position. Hence, from any position, the platens mayeither be pushed down or raised by merely pushing down slightly and thenreleasing, thus permitting the platen to rise step by step.

The possible operations just described permit great ease in keeping theopen portion of a book being photographed in one horizontal plane,namely, the plane upon which a camera is focused. A cover glass bearsdown upon the opened pages and comes to rest as shown at 49. It ishinged at 50 and has a handle 5| directly in front of the operator. Theelevation of the hinges 50 and the tops |2 of the stops determine thepreviously mentioned plane of focus.

Now if the operator merely sets the platens high enough before placingthe open books covers in them the first time that the cover glass isbrought down upon the book the platens will recede to the exact level ofthe plane of focus and at the same time pawl carrying member 4| will beplaced in the position shown in Fig. 1. Then after the exposure is madethe cover glass is raised and the platens rise due to the action ofspring 3!! to lift the book a distance equal to the travel which member4| may take before it reaches the upper side of chambers 20. If now asufficient number of pages are turned before the next exposure theplaten carrying the added pages will, of course, recede to a lower levelto accommodate the added thickness and the less thick side will notreoede as far as it raised, thus keeping both sides under pressure andin the correct plane when the cover glass is brought down.

Other desirable features of this invention are the lateral adjustmentspossible. These are most necessary for centering the book in the fleldof the camera and for keeping it centered as printed pages shift inposition while progressing through the book from cover to cover. In Fig.2 is shown the H-shaped member 52 carrying gear 53 which may be turnedby knurled wheel 54 to move rack 55 secured to frame 56 which is adaptedto slide laterally in said H-shaped member 52 as shown in Figure 5. Thisadjustment permits both platens and the book to be moved in unison. InFigure 6 is shown a mechanism whereby either platen may be separtelymoved in a lateral direction by sliding member 57 which carries thechambers l3 and M, on the top of the frame 55. When the lateral locationof the platens is properly adjusted for any given book it may be securedby tightening the set screws 58.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim:

1. A book support having parallel platens, each platen having a surfaceadapted to support a por tion of an open book, means for mounting one ofsaid platens and means for mounting the other platen, each forindependent movement at right angles to the supporting surface of saidplatens, a member to which each of the aforesaid means are fixed, aframe upon which said member is movably mounted, and means for movingsaid member with respect to said frame and at right angles to saidmovement of said platens thereby to move said platens and theirmountings in unison.

2. A book support according to claim 1 and in which each means formounting said platens for independent movement at right angles to thesupporting surface comprises a vertical rack to the top of which theplaten is fastened, a coiled spring on which the bottom of the rackrests, a chamber enclosing a portion of the rack intermediate its ends,said rack being longitudinally movable with respect to said chamber, ablock loosely mounted on said rack within said chamber, a spring pressedpawl pivotally mounted on said block in cooperative relation with saidrack, a stop pin on said block limiting the rotation of the pawl out ofengagement with the rack, and a spring-pressed catch projecting from theside wall of said chamber and adapted to engage said pawl.

3. A book support having parallel horizontal platens, each platen havinga surface adapted to support a portion of an open book, a vertical rackto the top of which a platen is fastened, resilient means urging upwardsaid rack, a chamber enclosing a portion of the rack, a block looselymounted on said rack within said chamber, a spring-pressed pawlpivotally mounted on said block in cooperative relation with said rack,a stop pin on said block limiting the rotation of the pawl out ofengagement with the rack, and a spring-pressed catch projecting from theside wall of said chamber and adapted to engage said pawl.

4. A book support having parallel horizontal platens, each platen havinga surface adapted to support a portion of an open book; for each platen:a vertical rack to the top of which the platen is fastened, a coiledspring on which the bottomof the rack rests, a chamber enclosing aportion of the rack intermediate its ends, said rack beinglongitudinally movable with respect to said chamber, a block looselymounted on said rack within said chamber, a pawl pivotally mounted onsaid block, said pawl having one leg in cooperative relation with saidrack and a second leg, a coiled spring having one end attached to saidblock and the other end to the upper face of the second leg and tendingto rotate said pawl out of engagement with said rack, a curved leafspring having one end attached to the under side of the second leg, astop pin on said block limiting the movement of said leaf spring andthus the rotation of the pawl out of engagement with the rack, the freeend of the leaf spring projecting below said block in cooperativerelation with a slanting pocket in the bottom of said chamber,

and a spring-pressed catch projecting from the side wall of said chamberand adapted to engage the under side of the second leg.

RUPERT H. DRAEGER.

